The association between delay discounting in intertemporal decisions and socioeconomic status(SES)

Intertemporal decisions involve outcomes that occur at different points in time. Individuals tend to discount delayed rewards or outcomes. This process is called delay discounting(DD) and is reliably related to subjective self-control or impulsiveness. The delay discount rate differs among individuals. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the DD rates vary as a function of socioeconomic status(SES) along with demographic variables at a high inflationary macroeconomic context. The present study applied the 27-item delay discounting questionnaire (DDQ) to measure individuals’ DD rates. education and income level as SES indicators were obtained likewise age, gender and ,marital status. The results revealed that highly educated individuals discount delays to a lesser extent and are less impulsive. There was no significant association between income level and DD rates but totally SES was significantly and negatively associated with delay discounting. there is evidence for women discounting more than men and married subjects discounting more than single ones. In a multiple regression analysis, education can predict fewer discounting behaviors controlling for gender and marital status (R2=0.123, Adjusted R2=0.098, F=5.026, p-value=0.003).